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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24417757">The Secret of Devora</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/pseuds/Palatinedreams'>Palatinedreams</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Voyager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Canon Divergence, Crystals, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Fights, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Medieval World, Memories, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Special gifts, Telepathy, The Borg, a little bit of romance and fluff, loosely based on the Darkover Books of MZB, possible continuation to s05e10 counterpoint</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:21:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24417757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/pseuds/Palatinedreams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kathryn Janeway wakes up on an unknown world in a shrine, not knowing how she's gotten there. Her uniform and communicator are gone, and the cave she woke up in is empty except for the shrine.</p><p>When she makes her way outside the cave to look for help and maybe find her unknown kidnapper, she's stunned to find the Devore Kashyk waiting for her, who tells her that she's on Devora, the twin world to Devore Prime, where his race, the Devore, originally came from. Kashyk brings her to a village where she meets the mayor and his wife - and finally the Keeper of Devora, who has slept in the shrine for centuries before she'd been woken up to save Devora from the danger of the Borg. </p><p>The Borg are on the way to Devora, and Kathryn is the only one who can help the Keeper. She learns that the Devore have once been a telepathic race who destroyed their first homeworld with their telepathic powers, and she's the only one who can wake the last sleeping telepaths up to help the Keeper fight against the Borg with their mental powers.</p><p>Kathryn agrees to help the Devorian, and so she begins her journey with Kashyk by her side, hoping that Voyager will find her again when her mission is finished...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kathryn Janeway/Kashyk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. An unexpected Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Lexi/gifts">Captain_Lexi</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy birthday, my wonderful girl!!!</p><p>I wish you all the best for your special day, love, joy and happiness, and I hope that this story will make you happy and bring you joy as well! :-*</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kathryn Janeway wakes up in a shrine on an unknown world. She's alone and someone took her clothes and her comm badge. She dresses with the clothes lying by the shrine and makes her way outside the cave to find herself in a truly beautiful world. But beauty is not the only thing waiting for her, and Kathryn is shocked to see Kashyk, the Inspector from the Devore standing face to face to her all of a sudden...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Awareness came back to her slowly and accompanied by a terrible headache.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She couldn't remember anything, not even her name, and the temptation to just sink back into the velvety darkness of another merciful coma without any pain tormenting her was almost overwhelming, but something nagging at the back of her tortured mind kept her struggling her way back to full consciousness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sharp pieces of gaudy red and bright white light were piercing through her still closed lids, stinging in her eyes and increasing the pain throbbing everywhere inside her skull. Strangled sounds and noises cut through the daze that was clouding her brain like the shards of a broken vase, and it took her some time to realize that they were her own doing, the sound of her voice unfamiliar and odd to her as she groaned and gasped in pain.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She was lying on her back on something that was hard and soft at the same time, even though this actually couldn't be and didn't make any sense to her spinning consciousness. Her hands moved around of their own accord, and another gasp escaped her dry lips when her numb fingers were stopped by something warm and unyielding. The surface of the walls surrounding her was plain and smooth, but it seemed to drum with the pulse of her own heartbeat, and the whirling lights hurting her eyes so much became brighter when her nails scratched over the walls that constricted her motions at each side of her body. A muffled cry of fear and shock was pulled from her when her hands wandered higher, above her head, just to find another restriction there.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She braced her palms against the obstacle, but it didn't give in under her desperate attempts to remove it. She couldn't breathe, not with the walls enclosing her and coming closer and closer until she feared that they would quash her completely.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Another cry echoed between the restraints of her prison, and she gave in to the blackness with a sob, her last coherent thought the vague and distant regret that she had failed her people.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>*~*~*</p><p> </p><p>Captain Kathryn Janeway came back to consciousness with a gasp, her mind switching from pitch black to high alert within one heartbeat and the next.</p><p>Her eyes flew open, and she stared at the ceiling above her head, dark-gray stone that was illuminated by a hidden source of light. Kathryn moved her eyes from one side to the other without turning her head, cautious not to attract any attention of her unknown kidnappers before she was fully awake and in control of her body and her memory again.</p><p>The last thing she remembered before she'd lost her consciousness was that she'd been in her quarters, sitting on her sofa and listening to Mahler's first symphony while reading something on her PADD.</p><p>She'd been doing that a lot, lately, listening to Mahler and Tchaikovsky, <em> his </em>favorite classical composers. Kathryn didn't know why she was torturing herself like that again and again, reminding herself of the foolish hopes she'd nursed that Kashyk was actually serious and honest in his wish to come with her and be more to her than just the hostile inspector of another highly advanced species. She'd not been so stupid to trust his motives, sweet words and explanations fully, and Voyager had been prepared when Kashyk had outed himself to be a counter-agent and tried to keep Kathryn and her crew from saving the telepathic refugees she'd hidden from the Devore so skillfully so far.</p><p>Resuming their way toward the Alpha Quadrant after her last encounter with Kashyk Janeway had found herself unable to stop thinking of the Devore; and she'd been dwelling in the memory of their kiss when a sudden burst of light had hit her and blinded her to unconsciousness right in the middle of her own quarters - where she actually ought to be safe from any attack or harm.</p><p>And now she found herself lying in something that resembled a coffin, only without a lid. The walls of the coffin were warm and pulsing in the rhythm of her heartbeat, and Kathryn strained her ears, but she couldn't make out any sound other than the low drumming of her own heart beating against her ribcage and some kind of a strange distant humming that seemed to come from the shrine she way lying in itself.</p><p>Her sharp and well-trained instincts told her that she was alone in the cave, and Kathryn slowly rose into a sitting position to take a look around and orientate herself. It was clear that she wasn't on board Voyager any longer, and she'd learned to accept new or changed circumstances and situations she didn't have control of at that point and adapt to them without letting fear or despair rule her actions.</p><p>It was pointless to mull over the question how she'd been brought here without having further information, and the best way to get back to her ship and her crew as quickly as possible was to gain more information about her environment and perhaps about the people who'd taken her away from her beloved ship.</p><p>The cave was empty except for the shrine, and Kathryn still couldn't make out the source of light that allowed her to look around and hopefully find her way out of her temporary new quarters soon. Several stalagmites and stalactites surrounded the coffin that had been placed in the center of the cave which were forming a perfect circle as Kathryn now realized, their shimmering polished surfaces speaking of age and eternity.</p><p>Her gaze fell onto something white that was hanging over the end of the shrine, right where the former closed lid had moved to allow her leaving her temporary prison. It seemed to be some clothes that were all of a snow-white color that shimmered like gold and ivory in the soft glow of the hidden lamps. Kathryn frowned, and it was only then when she noticed that someone must have undressed her while she'd been unconscious, taking her uniform and leaving her with nothing other than her sleeveless shirt and her panties.</p><p>Her cheeks flushed red, even though no one was there to witness her embarrassment, and she allowed herself a small sigh when she reached out for the clothes her unknown hosts apparently wanted her to wear for the time being. The captain of Voyager decided to think of her kidnappers as her hosts because they hadn't tied her or injured her while she'd been unconscious and defenseless, and there was a dark hole carved into the wall opposite her that looked a lot like a natural tunnel that was hopefully leading to the exit of the cave. The fact that the tunnel was dark and not shimmering in the colors of an energy field was a good sign that she was obviously permitted to move rather freely and leave the cave; and if the ones who'd brought her here wanted her to wear these white clothes, then she would obey their wish and cooperate - even more as she didn't have much of a choice here if she didn't want to face these people dressed in nothing more than just her underwear.</p><p>There was a shirt with long sleeves made of soft wool or something like that, and it fitted her perfectly when Kathryn pulled the shirt over her head. The round neck of her new shirt and the seams of its sleeves were adorned with thin silvery threads in beautiful complicated patterns, and the wool was of finest quality and felt wonderfully soft on her skin. Kathryn rubbed over her clothed arm in wonder before she shifted her attention back to the rest of her new outfit. There were breeches made of smooth white leather that hugged her legs like a second skin and were yet comfortable enough to move without any problems, and the long white tunic that completed her looks shimmered like thick and precious velvet and was adorned with the same silvery threads like her shirt. The tunic was loosely fitting and didn't have any sleeves, but covered her shoulders and half of their upper arms, its hems accentuated with broad silver edgings.</p><p>A leather belt colored in a dark silver-gray color was apparently meant to hold the tunic together around her waist, and Kathryn slung it around her midsection, stroking thoughtfully over the cool leather that warmed quickly under the touch of her fingers. She noticed four nubs on the belt where the sheaths of some weapons could possibly be attached to it, but there weren't any weapons in the cave she could make out, so her hosts didn't seem to find it necessary to equip her with them, at least not now.</p><p>The knee-long silver-gray leather boots Kathryn found standing before the shrine fitted as perfectly as the rest of her clothes that looked to her very much like the clothing young knaves or proud knights had worn on Earth during the Middle Ages, and she put them on and stuffed the legs of her breeches into the long shafts of the boots, taking the last garment that had lain on one of the stalagmites beside the coffin. It was a cape-like thick coat with a hood, its hems fur-trimmed with some kind of silvery fur, the coat itself made partly of velvet and partly of leather, and it was as white as the rest of her new garments.</p><p>“Hmm, they seem to like the color white for some reason,” Kathryn said to herself, pushing one strand of her chin-long hair behind her ear. The coat reached down to her knee-pits and swung around her legs when she took a few cautious steps forward to test her equilibrium and explore the cave for further information. She wandered around along the walls to search for hidden panels or other technological devices, but there was nothing, and she couldn't find the origin of the lights either.</p><p>After a while she gave up and returned to the coffin she'd woken up in. It was definitely artificial and a piece of highly advanced technology, and it was more a shrine or stasis pod than a real coffin as she could see now. Its purpose was still a secret to her, the interior shaped to host a humanoid person, but the alloy the shrine was made of was unknown to her and the shrine was completely empty now that she'd left it. If there was anything like a console, panel or computer to operate it, then it must be hidden inside the shrine and beyond her reach. Kathryn also realized that the soft golden light emanated from the shrine itself as she now bent over it again, the entire interior shining in that golden light and illuminating the cave with its beautiful glow. Kathryn couldn't make out any buttons or other hidden switches on the outside of the coffin either, and revealing the mysterious secrets of the shrine was actually not her most pressing concern. She needed to go back to Voyager and her crew, and that wouldn't be possible if she simply stayed in the cave and waited for someone to come to her and bring her back.</p><p>Her kidnappers had apparently wanted her to dress with these clothes for a special reason and purpose that she would hopefully find out sooner rather than later, and Kathryn's inquiring mind made itself known and urged her to leave the cave and search for answers in the alien world that was waiting for her outside the cave.</p><p>Kathryn threw one last glance back at the shrine and then made her way to the tunnel, determined not to rest until she'd found a way back to her ship and her crew.</p><p> </p><p>*~*~*</p><p> </p><p>No energy field kept her trapped in the cave, but there was a brief tingling crawling over her skin when she passed the entrance to the corridor and left the cavern. It was gone again before she could react and step back though, and it didn't affect her in any tangible way but felt warm and almost friendly, so Kathryn thought that there hadn't been done any damage to her - whatever the tingling had caused. The tunnel wound itself through gray rocks for several minutes, and Kathryn used her hands to feel for any possible obstacles on her way because the light from the shrine soon vanished, exposing her to complete darkness quickly. She paused to give her eyes time to adjust to the blackness, and after two or three more minutes she was able to see her white clothes shimmering in the thick blackness surrounding her. She set one foot before the other in a slow and careful pace, and after the next turn the tiniest spot of light became visible somewhere in front of her.</p><p>The last meters were easy to pass, and Kathryn brushed her palms against each other in an unconscious gesture when she reached the exit of the tunnel and took a moment to regard the clearing that bordered the entrance to the hollow. It was just a small one, a green meadow in the middle of tall trees with large green canopies. A soft breeze grazed her from the exertion and her inner turmoil flushed cheeks, carrying the scent of fresh grass and leaves to her. She resisted the temptation to close her eyes and hold her face up against the night sky that greeted her from above the crowns of the trees, letting her attentive gaze travel over the odd shadows the light of a pale moon was throwing over the meadow. They looked like giants and hunched dwarfs that had jumped right out of a book with mystic fairy tales, and Kathryn couldn't remain untouched by the magical atmosphere surrounding her.</p><p>Wherever she was, it was a beautiful world, the wooded hill behind her the only peak in the green plain that unfolded behind the lines of trees. The soft rustling of grass and leaves indicated that this world was inhabited by animals, the melancholy cry of a raptor that hunted by night breaking the peaceful silence.</p><p>A low rumbling sound tore Kathryn out of her rapturous contemplation, and she turned around just in time to see the entrance to the tunnel close as if some invisible giant hands were moving the rocks. The faintest hint of flickering light and whirling colors appeared when the tunnel was fully blocked again, telling her that a force field added to the protection of the cave, denying her any access back to the shrine. The Starfleet captain contemplated her options for a moment and then set off in the direction of the opposite edge of the clearing with quiet steps, narrowing her eyes as she observed the line of dark trees to be prepared in case that her kidnappers weren't as friendly as they'd appeared to be at first sight.</p><p>Janeway had just reached the center of the meadow when the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck started to prickle and she sensed that she wasn't alone any longer. Her head whipped around and her hair fell into her face at the abrupt motion, her hands reaching for her phaser before she realized that it couldn't be where it was usually attached to her uniform. Her communicator was gone too, and she shifted her weight and turned to the side in order to make herself as small as possible and be a less exposed and accurate target when not presenting her front to the dark figure that was standing before the rock all of a sudden, right where the now blocked exit of the cave had been and seemingly emerged out of nowhere.</p><p>Kathryn could feel their eyes on her face through the shadow the large hood threw over their hidden features, and she slowly raised her arms in a gesture of surrender to prove to the newcomer that she wasn't armed.</p><p>“I have no weapons, and I'm no threat to you!” she called over to the motionless human-like figure, “I'm not from this world, and I would like to require your help.” She didn't know whether or not the stranger could understand her without the help of her communicator, but she had to at least try it.</p><p>The cloaked person moved forward, and it looked as if they were gliding over the meadow without touching the ground under the long and dark cape they used to disguise themselves. Kathryn's heart was hammering in her chest, and she lifted her chin up and willed herself not to backpedal as she waited for the stranger to come closer and finally reveal their identity to her.</p><p>When they did, slowly pulling the hood from their face and letting the moonlight shine onto their familiar features, a loud gasp of surprise escaped her lips, and Kathryn stared at the man she'd thought to never see again.</p><p>Inspector Kashyk from the Devore, the one she'd thought she would never see him again, stepped forward, offering his palms to her with a smile. “Ah, Kathryn, it's been a while. You're as beautiful as ever, and I'm truly happy to see you again!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A cautious Truce</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kathryn decides to negotiate a temporary truce with Kashyk and follows him into a village, where she meets a friendly couple, Radyok and Larinya, the mayor of the village and his wife, learning more about the world where she has stranded against her will and its people.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's your birthday, so you'll get another chapter tonight! ;-* The next one will have to wait for a while longer because I need to re-fill my pile of chapters before posting number 3. :-)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“ <span>Inspector Kashyk! I didn't think that I would ever see you again! I cannot say that I'm as happy about this unexpected reunion as you are! What's going on here?”</span></p>
<p>The captain of Voyager stared at the Devore with a surprised expression on her face, but she'd seen and experienced too many 'impossible' things to let her surprise and confusion paralyze her for too long. So she just put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin up, thinking that the Devore who'd betrayed her trust so much might at least be able to give her some answers to her urgent questions about what was going on here. She glared back at him and waited silently for him to explain himself to her, ignoring the tiny flutter of excitement tingling in her stomach at his sight. She might secretly have fantasized about meeting the fascinating Devore again, but surely not under such circumstances and to her own conditions when she would be in control of their reunion and its surroundings.</p>
<p>Kashyk looked a little bit disappointed about her reaction, and he let out a sigh and slowly walked closer to her when it became clear that Kathryn wouldn't reach out to him to offer a peace treaty or at least a temporary truce on her own.</p>
<p>“<span>I must admit that I'd hoped for another reaction and a little bit more excitement – as I have indeed been nursing the slight hope that we would meet again one day, my dear Kathryn,” he drawled, causing her frown to deepen.</span></p>
<p>“<span>We didn't exactly part on good terms, as you surely remember, Inspector, so I would appreciate the more formal way between us. I'm Captain Janeway for you, not your 'dear Kathryn'. You lost the right to call me by my first name when you decided to play your games with the Voyager and lie to me.”</span></p>
<p>“<span>I didn't play any games, Kathr... Captain Janeway. I would do anything to protect my people and the interests of the Devore – just like you'd do for Voyager and your crew. I thought that you of all people would understand that,” Kashyk defended himself, sounding disappointed as well as resigned and accepting to her demand of some distance between them, and Kathryn inclined her head in acknowledgment. </span></p>
<p>“<span>I do, Inspector Kashyk. But hunting innocent refugees to bring them to captivity in some kind of detention camps is not the Federation way of handling things.”</span></p>
<p>“<span>They were telepaths, Captain.” he objected with a sigh as though this was an excuse for what he'd tried to do, which it didn't the least – and never would, not in her view on things.</span></p>
<p>“<span>They were innocent refugees who couldn't do any harm to your people, Inspector.” Janeway therefore just countered sternly in return.</span></p>
<p>They glared at each other from across the clearing, neither of them willing to back away and show understanding for the justifications the other one had had for their behavior and actions during their short time of acquaintance.</p>
<p>It was Kashyk who finally admitted defeat, sighing again and raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I didn't understand what you were trying to make me see back then, Captain. Things have changed though, and I do now.”</p>
<p>Kathryn snorted. “And to prove your sudden insight to me you kidnapped me and brought me here to apologize? You have a strange way of showing that you were wrong and I was right.”</p>
<p>
  <span>Kashyk smiled sadly. “I wish it were only that, and I understand your anger, Captain Janeway. It wasn't me who brought you here, by the way – as I don't have the knowledge and technology to do that – but I was the one asking the Keeper to do that because I hoped that you'd be willing to help me – help </span>
  <em>
    <span>us –</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> when you'd hear my story. Our intentions and targets might have been in opposition to each other during our first encounter, but you are probably the one knowing best what it means to lead your people and do anything that's necessary to protect them from any possible harm, and you're actually the only one in this galaxy I can ask for help because your willingness to help us would be entirely selfless and not contain any personal gains or pursuits. Please, it's really important, and I don't ask you to do that for any selfish reasons of my own.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>“<span><span>I'm not sure that I understand what you're talking about, Inspector Kashyk,” Kathryn said, feeling intrigued against her will, but she was far from just showing any willingness to cooperate and help the Devore in whatever he needed help for.</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>No, of course you don't. But you will, soon – if you'll come with me to meet the Keeper.”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>The Keeper?” Kathryn's head was spinning, and she was sick with worry about her crew, but there was nothing she could do at the moment to get back to her and Voyager – not without the help of this mysterious Keeper most likely.</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>The Keeper of this world. She will tell you everything you'll need to know to help us, after I've told you my story. You look as if you could do with something to eat and to drink at first, so would you please come with me and listen to me before you decide to rip my head from my shoulders for the kidnapping?” Kashyk's attempt to brighten her mood with a joke was lost on Janeway, but she nodded her head, sensing that she didn't have any other option left if she wanted to get back to the Voyager anyway.</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>Alright, Inspector, I seem to have no other choice in this matter at the moment, so I'm willing to negotiate a truce with you for the time being. I'm willing to hear you out, but I can't promise you that I will help you. The security of Voyager and bringing my people back home safely is my only concern, even more after your first betrayal.”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>I understand that, Kathryn, thank you. A truce between us will it be then, even though I'm still hoping that you will forgive me one day and make peace with me,” Kashyk said with a bow, and she felt too tired to remind him of his lapse and insist on being addressed with her rank and her surname. “We'll have to wait and see, I guess. I'm still angry with you, and I don't trust you, but I will come with you and talk to the Keeper before I'll make any final decision. Lead the way, then,” was all she said, and the relief crossing Kashyk's features was genuine and didn't seem to be another attempt to deceive her this time.</span></span></p>
<p>The Devore gestured to the small path at the other side of the clearing, and Kathryn followed him quietly when he walked past her and made his way to the dark line of tall trees, asking herself what she'd gotten into again this time.</p>
<p>The Delta Quadrant was full of surprises, and not all of them were good ones, but Kathryn would take them as they came along her way and not rest until she'd have brought her ship and her crew back home, and not even Kashyk or anybody else would keep her from doing so, no matter how hard overcoming all these obstacles would be.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*~*~*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Their walk was quiet after their first argument on this strange world, and it didn't last for more than half an hour or so before they reached the edge of a settlement.</p>
<p>Kathryn looked around curiously, her deep fascination for new worlds and alien species breaking through her worries again and making her look around with greatest interest and attention. She couldn't help it, but the explorer and scientist in her always reacted to the unknown, the secrets of this universe just waiting to be revealed and calling out to her, a pull she could never ignore and even harder resist, no matter how much she tried.</p>
<p>The street leading deeper into the village was quiet and deserted at this time of the night, small cottages and houses with neat white walls and beautiful gardens lining both sides of the road. Kashyk stopped before a two-storied house at the end of the street, bigger than the other ones and standing on its own with an enclosed yard in front of it.</p>
<p>“<span><span>Will we meet the Keeper here?” Kathryn asked when they reached the front door, but Kashyk shook his head. “No, the Keeper is waiting for you elsewhere. This house is the home of the mayor of this village, he and his wife were so kind to offer me their hospitality when I stranded here on Devora.”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>Devora? I thought your home world is called Devorus. You're speaking in riddles, Kashyk,” Kathryn stated, and the Devore turned around to smile at her before he knocked at the wooden door. “I will tell you everything. I'm sure that Radyok's wife Larinya has already prepared a late dinner for us.”</span></span></p>
<p>The door opened after a minute or so, an older male Devore dressed in a long and loosely fitting beige tunic with brown trousers underneath crossed his hands before his chest and inclined his head in a greeting bow. His black hair was starting to gray, and his dark eyes spoke of kindness and wisdom.</p>
<p>“<span><span>Kashyk, you're back! And you must be Captain Kathryn Janeway from the Voyager! Kashyk has been speaking of you a lot, so please come in, it would be our greatest pleasure to have you as our guest! I'm Radyok, the mayor of this village.”</span></span></p>
<p>Kathryn was still angry with Kashyk, but Radyok was friendly and not responsible for her kidnapping, and maybe he would be able to give her some answers, so she smiled at him and mirrored his greeting. “It's a pleasure to meet you Mayor Radyok. You're right, I'm Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Federation Starship Voyager. Thank you for your warm welcome, I'd be pleased to accept your kind offer.”</p>
<p>She ignored Kashyk as she followed Radyok into the house and through a hallway until they reached something that apparently served as a dining and living room. Tall book shelves occupied the entire wall left to the entrance, reaching from the floor up to the ceiling, leather-bound books arranged on the shelves in neat orders. A glass front with a door led into a garden opposite the door where they'd come in, and a large wooden table was taking up the center of the room, four comfortably looking chairs offering seats for Kathryn, Kashyk, Radyok himself and his wife. The table was set up with precious porcelain and Kathryn's rumbling stomach and the dry feeling in her mouth reminded her that she hadn't drunk and eaten since her quickly grabbed lunch when she'd still been on board Voyager.</p>
<p>“<span><span>Please have a seat, Lady Kathryn,” Radyok beckoned her to sit down and rest, pulling the chair for her with a smile. “My wife Larinya will be here in a minute with dinner. She's a wonderful cook.” </span></span></p>
<p>Kathryn sat down at the table and thanked her friendly host, when she suddenly froze in place and looked back and forth between the two Devore. “How come that you can understand me and that I can understand you, Radyok? My translator wasn't there any longer when I woke up in that cave.”</p>
<p>Kashyk nodded his head, he looked as if he'd been expecting her question. “I've been able to learn your language when I enjoyed your hospitality on board Voyager as you surely remember, Kathryn. But at the moment you're not speaking in your own language. The mother tongue the Devore are still sharing with the Devorians has been transferred into your brain during your transport.”</p>
<p>“<span><span>You've been in my head, Kashyk?!” Kathryn attempted to rise to her feet again, but Kashyk made a calming gesture. “No one was in your head, Kathryn. It was part of the technology the Keeper used for your transport. I was the one taking your uniform and your comm badge, that's true, but it was necessary as I can assure you.”</span></span></p>
<p>Kathryn scowled at him, but she preferred not to address the fact that Kashyk had undressed her down to her underwear. “I want my communicator back,” was all she said, and Kashyk inclined his head in acknowledgment.</p>
<p>“<span><span>You will get it back before your return to Voyager, I promise you.”</span></span></p>
<p>Radyok had watched them, and he interrupted her with an apologetic smile when she wanted to protest. “Please, Lady Kathryn, hear Kashyk out before you judge us. He wouldn't have done what he did if our world wasn't in danger.” He went silent when the door opened again, and a female Devore, probably his wife Larinya, came in, carrying a large tray with bowls and carafes.</p>
<p>“<span><span>Please, let me help you, my dear.” Radyok went over to her to take the tray and put it onto the table. “Lady Kathryn, this is my wife Larinya. Larinya, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway, Kashyk's precious lady who will hopefully safe us.”</span></span></p>
<p>Larinya was a beautiful woman with ageless features and a kind smile, her long blond hair starting to become gray at the sides too, but her skin was still smooth and ceaseless. Kathryn noticed that the ridges Radyok and Larinya had - and which served as characteristically facial features of the Devore race - were less sharp and prominent than Kashyk's ridges, but it was yet evident to Kathryn that they shared the same origin with Kashyk and were still closely related.</p>
<p>Kathryn stood up to greet Radyok's wife, and she liked the beautiful Devorian right at first sight. “I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Larinya. And thank you for your invitation to let me be your guest,” she said, and the mayor's wife crossed her hands before her breast and bowed her head. “The pleasure is all mine, Lady Kathryn. Kashyk has spoken highly of you, it's as if I already knew you. Please sit down and enjoy the dinner I prepared for you. You must be hungry and thirsty, and it will be easier for you to listen to what Kashyk wants to tell you when you're feeling less tired and confused.”</p>
<p>“<span>Kathryn – or Captain Janeway will do just fine, there's no need to call me 'Lady Kathryn',” Janeway objected, but Radyok shook his head and bowed again.</span></p>
<p>“<span><span>Of course you are Lady Kathryn to us. You're the kind, wise and strong leader of your people like Kashyk assured us, and you have our greatest respect. Larinya's stew is the best stew on Devora, so please enjoy your meal, Lady Kathryn.” Radyok served her a generous portion of the deliciously smelling stew, and Kathryn accepted gratefully the glass with flavored water Larinya handed to her after she'd sat down to her left. Kashyk had taken the chair opposite her, watching her quietly while Radyok and his wife did their best to make their guest feel comfortable.</span></span></p>
<p>Janeway resigned herself to being treated like a Medieval noble woman with a sigh and took her cutlery with a smile to taste her late dinner, grateful that she got the chance to refill her energy storage and revive her spirits to some point.</p>
<p>“<span><span>Hmm, your stew is truly delicious and wonderful, Laryina, thank you,” she praised her host after the first bites, dabbing her lips with her napkin. “Please excuse my rudeness though, but I'm deeply concerned about my crew and their well-being, so I'd be grateful if you answered some of my questions. The sooner I can return to my ship, the better for all of us.”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>They shall all be answered when you have eaten, Kathryn. You'll need your strength for what you'll have to do to get back to Voyager afterwards, believe me,” Kashyk gave back, lifting his glass to his lips and holding her gaze. “But I'm sure that Radyok and Larinya will be happy to tell you more about their beautiful home world in the meantime, isn't that so, Radyok?”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>Oh yes, indeed.” the mayor put his cutlery down and cleared his throat. “I can sense the scientist in you, Lady Kathryn. You might be the captain of a proud starship, but you're so much more than that, and your mind is sharp and craving to learn more about the universe and how it works, right?”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>You're right with that, Radyok,” the captain of the Voyager admitted, “so you call yourself Devorians and not Devore, if I understood that correctly?”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>Indeed. We call our world Devora, while our brothers and sisters – as well as our own ancestors – once called their home planet Devore Prime before they left this system to search for a new place to live. You can still see that we've once been closely related, but their departure has been many centuries ago, and most of them – and some of us – have forgotten about the others and our history. There are only a few left on Devora who still remember all of what happened in the past, and who are still able to read the ancient scripts about the terrible war that tore our worlds apart and almost destroyed Devore Prime.”</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>I see.” Kathryn was pretty sure that she didn't understand anything, but she hoped that it would encourage her host to go on with his story. She couldn't deny that she was deeply fascinated by what he'd told her so far, and it seemed that she wouldn't be able to return to her beloved Voyager before she hadn't at least tried to help the Devorians by whatever they needed her help for, so she could just as well listen to Radyok and Kashyk and decide what she wanted to do after knowing what was going on here.</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>So you are one of the few who still remember the old stories, then, Radyok?” she continued, and the mayor nodded his head.</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>Yes, I am. The mayor of each village will be taught the ancient script when the time has come to succeed the old one, and we have to study those scripts before we are allowed to rule and guide our people with wisdom and care. It's most crucial that something like this terrible war will never happen again, and we have lived in peace together ever since our ancestors decided not to use the technology again that led to this war. Our brothers and sisters from Devore Prime chose another way though, that's why they left this system and wished to make a new start without the burden of their mental skills.” </span></span></p>
<p>Radyok and Kashyk exchanged a meaningful look, and Kathryn frowned when she noticed their silent communication.</p>
<p>“<span><span>Mental skills? What do you mean with that?” she demanded, and Kashyk turned to her with a melancholic smile.</span></span></p>
<p>“<span><span>He means telepathy, Kathryn. The first Devore have once been a highly gifted telepathic species. That's why we have been tracking down other telepaths down for so long. Because we've once been like them, and because our mental skills have almost led to our extinction.” </span></span></p>
<p>Kathryn felt her mouth drop open, and all she could do for a moment was staring at him in stunned silence.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Kashyk's Story</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kathryn learns more about Kashyk's motives and his real origin, and what he's hearing is really surprising her.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You asked for a new chapter, and I couldn't resist to fulfill your wish. But there might be another cliffhanger at the end again, and the next update really has to wait for a while longer... ;-*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 3: Kashyk's story</p>
<p>“A telepathic species? The Devore? You're kidding me, right?” Kathryn finally managed to bring out after a long pause, the plate with the stew totally forgotten.</p>
<p>“I fear that I am not, Kathryn.” Kashyk didn't look as if he were joking, and she blindly grabbed for her glass to gulp some water down.</p>
<p>“Please explain yourself to me, Inspector,” she demanded coolly and angrily, feeling betrayed and deeply hurt at his unexpected admission and returning to the formal addressing as she glared at him. “If I had known that when you were still on board my ship...”</p>
<p>“I didn't know that myself back then, believe me, Captain Janeway.” The Devore was sensitive and reasonable enough not to anger her further by addressing her with her first name in this moment, and he licked over his lips in a nervous gesture. Kathryn could feel Radyok and Larinya's attentive eyes on her face, but her attention was fixed on the man she'd let come much closer to her than it was good for her inner peace.</p>
<p>“Look, when I left the Voyager the last time, I was really convinced that I'd done the right thing and that the precautions my people had set up to make sure that the Devore would be absolutely necessary to eliminate any possible threat that could arouse from other species that were crossing our territories – and this before their special telepathic skills would become a real problem for our safety. But after my return to Devorus I started to think more closely about what you'd said and your reasons to hide the refugees from us. The Voyager is for sure a proud ship, but it's only one ship in the endless vastness of the Delta Quadrant how you call our part of the galaxy, and you're little more than hundred people - thousands of light years away from home. And yet you were willing to help others while we felt threatened by a few dozens of settlers – just because they were telepaths, wishing to live in peace and without trying to challenge us in any way. </p>
<p>I couldn't stop thinking about that, no matter how hard I tried, and none of the people I asked why we are so afraid of this kind of mental abilities could give me a satisfying answer to my questions. I don't know why I never questioned our laws regarding telepathic species before I met you, that I've been raised with them and didn't know any other way is my only excuse here. So one day I found myself standing before the archives in our capital and walked in to find out more about our history and our – perhaps ungrounded - fears. </p>
<p>You must understand that there is not much we actually know about the time before what we call the dark centuries, all documents about this time period seemed to be lost. I didn't give up on my attempts to seek answers to my questions though, determined to get to the bottom of the problem, and about three weeks ago, I accidentally stumbled over a secret door that led to a part of the old archives only few people have access to. When I explored these rooms, I found very old scripts written in a language I had trouble deciphering at first.”</p>
<p>Kashyk went silent and reached for his glass to wet his dry throat. “Let us say that as an inspector I knew the right people to help me find someone who could do that for me, in the person of one of our specialists for ancient languages who owed me a favor. He translated the scripts for me, revealing the true history of the Devore our government has been hiding from us for far too long.”</p>
<p>Kathryn gazed at him, and Radyok cleared his throat to break the heavy silence. “We're glad that you didn't give up, Kashyk. Our two peoples have been separated for too long. They deserve to learn the truth about each other and find a way to leave the past behind and become one people again.”</p>
<p>“Why did the Devorians never reach out for their former brothers and sisters again, Radyok?” Kathryn asked him, and the mayor sighed. </p>
<p>“We decided not to use the technology of our ancestors any longer when we came here, Lady Kathryn, not for anything else other than to protect our planet from possible enemies, that is. There are a few exceptions you will learn about later on, but we don't have any functioning starships we could use to leave our planet and visit the Devore, so we had to wait until they would find us again – which Kashyk did when he came here with his ship. Besides, a lot of the Devorians actually don't remember their past any longer either, and there was actually never the need to go back to that memories and reach out for our former sisters and brothers and their technology.”</p>
<p>“I see. So you came here with a ship? Where is it? Can we use it to fly back to Voyager?” Kathryn asked, focusing on the detail of Kashyk's story that was the most important to her. She knew that she sounded eager, but if there was only the slightest chance to let her crew know that she was well and would soon return to them, then she had a right to know.</p>
<p>A brief emotion crossed Kashyk's face, but it was gone before the captain of the Voyager could detect it.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately not, Kathryn. The Devorians made sure that no starship could land here without being damaged when they settled on this planet centuries ago, and I was lucky that I survived the crash. There is a force shield around this planet that damages and disables technological devices of any kind, and only my piloting skills and the fact that my ship was a small one saved my life.”</p>
<p>“I see.” She repeated, and she couldn't hide her disappointment. The Devore looked genuinely regretful when he returned her gaze. “I'm sorry, Kathryn.”</p>
<p>“Yes, of course. Just go on, please.” She pushed her plate to the side, not hungry any longer, but she accepted another glass of water from Larinya with a grateful smile.</p>
<p>“The ancient scripts said that the Devore had once lived in another system light years away from Devorus, a special system with twin planets circling around the sun Devor in the same orbit, always standing in exactly opposite positions to each other with their mother sun right in the middle between them. Our ancestors had been a telepathic species with advanced technology they mostly operated with the help of their mental skills and special crystals in different colors – depending on the different families that used them - and which they called 'Starstones'. These Starstones amplified their mental skills to a large extent, depending on the size of the crystals. They had starships and lived in big cities with high standards of technology, but their culture was still based on an ancient feudal system with several powerful families in charge that built a council, choosing one of their members as their king or queen, usually someone with especially powerful mental abilities.”</p>
<p>Kathryn felt a shiver run down on her spine. She couldn't really tell what she'd expected to hear about Kashyk's race, but surely not something like that. “What happened?” she asked with a lump in her throat, and she realized that she felt more and more drawn to the fascinating story.</p>
<p>“One part of the Devore didn't like the path that had been chosen, they thought that the technology had become too dangerous to use it any longer, that it would destroy them one day, and they decided to colonize the twin planet of their system and live there as farmers and simple traders without starships and all the machines they'd become so dependent on. They left Devore Prime and settled down in their new home, which they called Devora – this world. The others stayed, and it didn't take long until the cities became too big and there were not enough resources left for everyone. The powerful families rivaled each other, fighting about resources and power, and their rivalries led to a terrible war, a war that was fought mostly through their mental powers. The strongest telepaths united their forces and used huge Starstones made of countless smaller ones to defeat and destroy their opponents and the machines and ships they used, a war that has been called 'The Crystal War'.”</p>
<p>Kashyk took another sip from his glass, his usually so controlled and calm expression showing some cracks in the mask of self-confidence and strength. Kathryn could hardly imagine how he must have felt when he'd found all the things he'd been taught for all of his life and which he'd so firmly believed in to be based on lies and a violent past his ancestors had chosen to hide and erase from their history.</p>
<p>“This terrible war eventually destroyed our former home world Devore Prime to an extent that living on it was hardly possible any longer, and when the last survivors realized that their only chance to survive and build a new future was to leave their destroyed homeworld and find a new one, they boarded the last still functioning starships and left this system to settle down somewhere else far away from here. Some of them decided to join their brothers and sisters already living here on Devora under the protection of the force field, and they were granted shelter and a new home because they accepted a life without advanced technology for the prize of keeping their mental skills. The others left the system, and they found Devorus, a friendly and peaceful world with rich natural resources of the metals and base materials they'd need for their culture and technology. They started to build new villages and cities - and an entirely new society without mental abilities.”</p>
<p>Kathryn frowned at that. “You mean they practiced genetic alterations to erase your telepathic abilities?”</p>
<p>Kashyk nodded. “Yes. The new government on Devorus set up strict laws for birth control and marriages to make sure that our mental abilities would die out. They built large centers for genetic research and after a few centuries, only few children were born which still possessed the old telepathic skills. Our scientists created small implants, devices that are able to suppress telepathy in case that any newborn child shows what is considered a wrong mutation nowadays, and their parents won't even be informed about those implants and the mutation of their children.”</p>
<p>He paused and looked at her. “Imagine my surprise when I found out that I have such a device in my head as well, Kathryn,” he said quietly. “It's hard to detect if you don't know what you're looking for, and no one ever told me or my parents. Your clever holographic doctor might have found it – if he'd ever gotten the chance to examine me.”</p>
<p>“I see.” Kathryn was not sure what to make out of Kashyk's truly stunning revelation. “And how did you find out that you've been implanted with one of these devices after your birth?”</p>
<p>“The Keeper living here on Devora told me that. You will soon meet her, Kathryn, I promise you.” Kashyk gave back rather ominously, “let me just finish my story, please.”</p>
<p>“Of course, just go ahead.” Kathryn's mind was spinning from all the rather earth-shaking things that had happened to her since she'd woken up in that cave, but her curiosity had woken up at Kashyk's story, and she really wanted to learn more about the Devore and their past. Not to mention that she still had some feelings for the one special Devore sitting opposite her, and whom she'd thought that she would never see him again – the one who'd kidnapped her now because he said that he needed her help.</p>
<p>“When I'd learned everything about the past of my people I could find on Devorus, I decided to search for our lost brothers and sisters – and our former home – the system my ancestors had left after the Crystal War. There was an old map among the scripts I'd discovered, a stellar map that led me here. I prepared my private ship for my trip and told my superior that I wanted to visit my sister and her family. They live on in one of our colonies, and she's given birth to my nephew recently. Then I set up a course that would bring me to this system. My scans proved to me that Devore Prime is still covered with the traces of the war and a rather deserted and unfriendly place, so I decided to contact Devora and the Devorians living here at first, hoping that they would welcome me.<br/>
The scripts hadn't said anything useful about the force shield around Devora though, only mentioned it briefly, and I was caught up in my wish to meet my unknown relatives that I was totally taken by surprise when my engines stopped all of a sudden and nothing was working any longer. It was sheer luck that I survived the crash, and Radyok found me and offered me shelter. Opposite to my people, our brothers and sisters living here have never tried to forget their past but made sure that some of them would always know about it and remember their own kin if we ever decided to search for them again, and he recognized me as one of his long missed relatives right away. The Devorians are peaceful and friendly people – at least most of them – and they deserve to be saved from the danger that is threatening them, Kathryn.”</p>
<p>“What kind of danger, Kashyk?” Kathryn wanted to know, forgetting that she'd wanted to keep her distance from the handsome Devore who'd been messing with her feelings so much.</p>
<p>It was Radyok who answered to her question, though, the friendly Devorian looking at her with a pleading expression on his kind face.</p>
<p>“The Borg, Lady Kathryn. The Borg are on their way here, and we're fearing that they will be able to get through the force shield, destroy our world and assimilate us. We never met this cybernetic species, but Kashyk told us about them what he knows.”</p>
<p>Kathryn stared at Radyok silently, her eyes wide with surprise and shock. “The Borg?” she made sure, and Kashyk nodded grimly.</p>
<p>“Yes, Kathryn. My long distance sensors detected one of their cubes right before I crashed here, and it's clear that they're on their way to this system. Whether it's the force field that attracted their attention – or perhaps even the fact that the Devorians are a telepathic race, I don't know. But they'll be here in a few weeks or even days, and this is the reason why I let you be brought here. You're the only one who can help us. If you don't, Kathryn, then this world will fall and all Devorians will soon cease to exist – and not only them, but it won't take long until they'll come to Devorus as well. My people will be the next to be assimilated then if you won't help us. Please, Kathryn, I'm begging you, help me defeat the Borg – or all of us will die. You're the only one who can do that, and all of our lives depend on you now!”</p>
<p>Kathryn opened her mouth and closed it again, unable to speak, and she stared at Kashyk in shock, but she knew that her decision was already made. She would help Kashyk and the Devorians, she simply couldn't allow the Borg to destroy this beautiful world and let happen what had happened on Wolf 359.</p>
<p>If there was any chance left that she could defeat the Borg, then she would do that, no matter the cost.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Stormqueen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kathryn meets the Keeper of Devora and learns the history of the Devore and why they are so afraid of telepaths.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You asked so impatiently and nicely for the next chapter, and which mother can resist her daughter when she's making such puppy eyes? So here's the next chapter, but the next chapters will have to be written before I can post them, so the next won't be up any time soon, I fear. :-*<br/>The inspiration to the events told here come from Marion Zimmer Bradley's wonderful book series about the world Darkover and the telepathic feudalistic society living there, especially her book <em>Stormqueen</em>.<br/>There is also a reference to another series we've been watching on TV together, I think you'll recognize it! ;-*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Where are we going?” Kathryn asked when she followed Radyok and Kashyk through another narrow and gloomy tunnel that led downwards into unknown regions of a system of natural and artificial caverns and tunnels that existed under the settlement with an expanse of at least several hundreds of meters or even more.</p><p>The Devorian mayor had led them through the village and to the town hall, which also served as the public library as well, opening a secret and well hidden door behind one of the huge bookshelves with a press of his left hand against a panel and an amulet he'd pulled out of its hiding place under his tunic. A small red crystal was softly glowing in the center of the silver necklace, and Kathryn thought that this must be one of the mysterious <em> Starstones </em>Kashyk had told her about.</p><p>“There are secret caves under the village, hiding places which also keep some of the technology we brought here to protect our world from enemies that might come to this world from beyond the stars. Each mayor has access to the technology that keeps the force field intact to maintain the devices, but only the mayor of this village – those telepaths who can use the crystals – have access to these caves and the devices that are needed for the shrine where you'd been transported from Voyager - and where our Keeper has slept for centuries before I had to wake her up due to what Kashyk told us about the Borg.”</p><p>“I see,” Janeway said, even though she actually didn't understand anything, but she hoped that she would soon get some more answers.</p><p>“No one knows about this place except for the mayors of the villages, not even my wife knows about these special tunnels. Only in greatest dire straits and life threatening danger I'd be allowed to lead my people here to ensure their safety. It never happened so far, the force field was able to withstand all attempts to break through it for centuries, and that Kashyk's ship made it through it is probably because of the fact that the field recognized the familiar technology and allowed the small vessel to get through – but with severe damage in case that our relatives searching for us would harbor any hostile intentions and wishes to cause harm to us.</p><p>Our ancestors wanted their brothers and sisters to find their way back here one day, so they made sure that they could make it through the field with the right adjustments. They couldn't know that the Devore would forget about us, and the computers establishing and maintaining the shield reacted when those adaptations didn't exist and Kashyk tried to land without asking for access and permission beforehand. The damage is too severe to repair his ship, but fortunately he didn't die during the crash. But I fear as much as Kashyk does that the Borg will find a way to let our shield collapse and destroy our world.”</p><p>Janeway laid her hand onto Radyok's forearm. “I won't let them do that, I will help you as best as I can to defeat the Borg before they can destroy the shield and set foot here in your beautiful world.”</p><p>“Thank you, Lady Kathryn. You're as kind and generous as Kashyk told us that you were.” Radyok inclined his head and stopped before what looked like a dead end but was actually another hidden door.</p><p><em> 'I wonder how many hidden doors exist on Devora,' </em>Kathryn thought as she watched the Devorian pressing his palm against a spot on the gray rock, the red crystal nestling in the small hollow between his two collarbones starting to glow in an intensive ruby-red color. The rock glided to the side almost silently, and Radyok stepped through the opening. Another kind of energetic shield formed a halo around him for a few seconds, and Radyok raised his hands in a gesture of peace and invitation, waiting quiet and motionless for the field to fade again.</p><p>“Please stop on the threshold so the computer can recognize your brain patterns, Lady Kathryn. Your heart is pure and free of any hostile thoughts towards us, you'll have nothing to fear. It's a precaution to keep enemies from entering the sacred chambers.”</p><p>Kathryn nodded and stepped forward until she was standing in the opening, lifting her hands up like Radyok had done it and relaxing her body and her mind. She had nothing to hide, no intention to cause harm, and the soft tingling and the warm glow was what she remembered from the cave with the shrine where she'd woken up. When the glow faded again, she stepped into the chamber and waited for Kashyk to follow her, looking around curiously.</p><p>The chamber was illuminated by several golden lights that seemed to be part of the ceiling itself, and Kathryn could see several devices and consoles standing before the wall opposite the entrance. Lights were blinking, and she could hear a soft humming that filled the entire room, soothing and welcoming her. The computer made her curious about the technology the Devorians used, but her gaze was drawn unstoppable to the pedestal in the middle of the chamber with something resembling an examination bed on top of it. It looked like the beds in Voyager's sickbay with four or five monitors attached to it, and there was a young woman lying on the bed with closed eyes, her Devorian ridges not showing the sharp edges yet that came with age, but still smooth and less prominent, accentuating her youth and beauty in a strange but appealing way. She was dressed completely in white and had dark hair, cut short to a haircut that reminded Kathryn of the haircut of Medieval knights and knaves again.</p><p>Kashyk stepped beside her, and the Starfleet captain darted him a quick sidelong glance before she looked back at the bed again. “Is she the Keeper you've spoken of earlier?” she wanted to know, and she could feel cool air brushing over her cheek when he nodded his head as close as they stood together. Kathryn forced herself not to move aside in order not to let the confusion and longing show Kashyk was arousing in her.</p><p>Radyok crossed the small chamber and let his fingers fly over one of the computer consoles, the soft humming sounds increasing as he did so. The monitor above of the young woman's head moved backwards, and she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to the side to look at Janeway.</p><p>“The Ancestors welcome you on Devora, Lady Kathryn,” she said, “and so do I.” The young Devorian struggled to sit up, and Radyok hurried to offer her his support and help her until her feet touched the stony floor of the cave. She leaned heavily against the older Devorian's side, thanking him with a smile for his aid.</p><p>“I'm fine, Radyok, thank you. Just feeling a little bit dizzy, but it will pass.” The mayor guided her to where Kathryn was standing frozen to the spot, and her warm brown eyes roamed over the captain's face as if she wanted to burn Kathryn's features into her memory forever. Janeway returned her thoughtful and fascinated gaze openly, and she could feel something building between them, a strong bond and connection like she had hardly ever experienced beforehand.</p><p>“I am Captain Kathryn Janeway from the Starfleet Starship Voyager,” she finally broke the silence when the silent scrutiny of the young woman became too much for her to bear, and the Devorian smiled at her and crossed her hands before her breast with a bow in the formal greeting Kathryn already knew from Radyok and Larinya.</p><p>“I know who you are, Lady Kathryn. You are the one who will be known as the <em>Great Savior</em> in the stories our descendants will once tell about you in a future far away from now. You are the one who will save my people and reunite our lost brothers and sisters with us.”</p><p>“That's quite a burden you're putting on my shoulders,” Kathryn stammered, taken aback by the passionate speech of the young woman, “I haven't done anything so far, and I still don't even know who you are.”</p><p>The Devorian turned her attention to Kashyk for a moment, and Janeway got the impression that they were communicating telepathically with each other. She didn't know how that was possible with the device in the former Inspector's head that was suppressing his abilities, but the moment of distraction gave her the time to regard the young Devorian more closely and without any disturbance.</p><p>She wore a white dress in a style that recalled pictures of Medieval ladies in her head again, with long trumpet-shaped sleeves reaching down to her slim wrists that were adorned with silvery threads like her own shirt and tunic, and the long skirt was swinging elegantly around her slim figure when she moved. The V-shaped collar revealed a silver necklace that was similar to the one that Radyok wore, but the ruby-red crystal in the middle of the oval pendant was much bigger than Radyok's, and Kathryn could see red lines of different shades and intensities swirling around in the beautifully cut jewel. It almost looked as if it were alive and much more than just a crystal, and maybe that was true regarding what Kashyk and Radyok had told her about the <em> Starstones </em>and how they amplified the mental abilities of their carriers.</p><p>“I was once known as Lexia Arinok, and I will tell you everything you need to know about me, Lady Kathryn, but I'd like to do that in another way than just with words. Words alone are so inappropriate at times, transporting facts and maybe even emotions, but not the entirety of life and its many possible paths.”</p><p>Janeway hesitated, but the Devorian's smile was soft and reassuring, and she reached out to her with both hands in an inviting gesture. “No harm will come to you, Lady Kathryn. The Ancestors saw your heart when they brought you here, and they acknowledged you as our sister in mind and soul.”</p><p>“The Ancestors? Kashyk told me that the Keeper – you? - brought me here with the technology that is still existing here on Devora, despite the decisions of the Devorians to mostly live without it.”</p><p>The young woman's smile deepened. “No technology can exist or work without the spirits of those who built and created it, isn't that so? Your beautiful Voyager wouldn't be what she actually is without your spirit filling and guiding her. And the same goes for the people living in her belly and under your protection. You are Voyager, and Voyager is you, Lady Kathryn, without you, she would just be an alloy of various elements, nothing more. Come sit down with me and let me show you.”</p><p>“I'm not a telepath, Lady Lexia,” Kathryn objected, but she took Lexia's hands and sank down onto the ground together with her nevertheless, mirroring Lexia's posture and crossing her legs.</p><p>“And yet you're so open and sensitive for other minds and their needs and feelings,” Lexia said, her voice as soft as her hands were when she entwined their fingers in the space between their bodies. “You don't have to be a telepath to meld with me. In fact you were chosen as our savior because you are not a natural telepath.”</p><p>The captain opened her mouth to ask what that was supposed to mean, but something tugging gently at her mind all of a sudden made her close it again. Her eyes fluttered shut as well at the overwhelming sensation, and she couldn't resist the gentle pull, nor did she actually want to resist it. Lexia's presence at the edge of her mental barriers was not the harsh intrusion she'd expected it to be, and it wasn't at all like the mind meld with Tuvok she'd once experienced. It was like a tender embrace, warm and bright, making her feel safe and protected, and she opened herself up to the young Devorian and welcomed her in her mind and her thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>*~*~*</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kathryn was flying in the vastness of an endless sky, blue and gray in all colors and shades whirling together. She could see herself in between clouds that grew and grew, balling up to huge mountains and walls and their color changing from bright white to the darkest gray. She was riding on these clouds, her hair blowing behind her in the stormy wind, and she didn't remember any time she had felt as free and powerful as she felt now.</em>
</p><p>'Stormrider!' <em>she thought, not knowing where this word had come from all of a sudden, but it was all she could think of, and it felt so right and appropriate that she just accepted it. Then Lexia was suddenly with her, riding on the clouds beside her and looking at her.</em></p><p>“<em>Yes, Kathryn, I'm Lexia Stormrider, the last daughter and heir of the once so powerful Stormrider Family Our clan name was actually </em>Arinok, <em>but everyone was calling us the Stormriders, and after some time we were doing the same because this name suited us so much better. The women of the Stormriders have always been more powerful than the male offspring, and I was the most powerful female Stormrider that had ever been born into their clan,” Lexia explained, not sounding proud or arrogant, she was simply retelling her story to Kathryn as she realized.</em></p><p>“<em>I couldn't just ride on the biggest thunderstorms, I could control them like none of my family had ever been able to achieve, even create them, from an early age on. They called me </em>Stormqueen<em> when they realized what I was capable of - and that I could destroy entire cities with my storms. I was proud, so young and proud, too young to understand the real power of my abilities – and the destruction of these powers.”</em></p><p>
  <em>The cloud Kathryn was sitting upon started to move and roll up and down and whirling faster and faster, and all Kathryn could do was to let it happen and succumb to the untamed force of the storm until she was nothing more than just a tiny droplet of rain in the heavy cascades of icy waters that were soon pouring down from the dark sky and drowning every living being on the surface of the planet in their torrential floods. She tried to scream in mortal fear, but the wind took her cries from her, and when she came back to herself again, she felt like waking up from an endless nightmare.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The storm had disappeared, and Kathryn found herself sitting on a soft sheep-like white cloud and looking down on what must once had been a prosperous world, probably Devore Prime. Lexia was beside her again, sitting on another soft white cloud.</em>
</p><p>“Stormqueen<em>, what a suitable name,” Kathryn stated, still shaken and feeling weak and dizzy.</em></p><p>
  <em>Lexia's smile was sad when she nodded her head. “Indeed. My gift was more a burden and a curse than a gift, but I didn't understand that when I was young. I was raised in the belief that I was born to rule over Devore Prime and bend my subjects to my will and pleasure if they wouldn't submit to my power willingly, and there was no one with the same mental powers as I possessed, so I accepted my future role and started to think that it was not only my duty, but also my perfect right to become a real queen one day.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She paused, waving her hand in a wide arc through the now soft and fragrant breeze, and pictures started to appear and move along before the clouds as if they were sitting in a cinema and watching an old movie on Earth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kathryn saw cities build on the surface, grow bigger and disappear again, years and centuries pass by before her eyes as Lexia told the story of Devore Prime and her ancestors to her.</em>
</p><p>“<em>The Devore have always been a telepathic species, not all of them having strong mental skills, but most of them, and being 'head-blind' was once considered to be an illness or handicap. In ancient times, when there was only little technology and our ancestors lived their lives in feudal structures and societies, the strongest telepaths would forge bonds by marriages with other strong carriers to keep the bloodlines pure and their abilities strong and exclusive. Their ancestors had found out that the crystals they were mining were natural amplifiers to their abilities if matched with their owners on a personal level. They called these crystals </em>'Starstones' <em>and used them to build their technology and become a society depending on this technology. After several hundred years, five powerful and noble clans were holding the power of rulership among themselves, their mental powers stronger than those of any other person or family.</em></p><p><em> There was the </em> Meridok Family, <em> the color of their </em> Starstones <em> the bright yellow-gold of the midday sun, and the color of their clothes was the azure blue of the sky. Their special skill was to feel the flow of energy, to become a part of it and channel it to their purpose. Without this ability no technology would have the power to function, and the </em> Meridok Family <em> knew that and demanded to have more seats in the council than the other four. </em></p><p><em> The </em> Laranax Family <em> used blue </em> Starstones <em> and the color of their clothes was the rich orange-gold of the </em> Chrysea-Flower. <em> The special gift of this clan was the gift of healing. They could sense illnesses and heal injuries with their mental powers, and they demanded to be the first Family of all five clans because they could bring back life to those who were doomed to die the painful death of disease. </em></p><p><em> The third powerful clan was the </em> Sumarak Family,<em> their crystals showing the rich green of summer leaves and grass. Their clothes were ruby red like the berries of the Devorish Oak, and they were our builders, the creators of our starships and technology. They could sense and see the structure and essence of the elements and the devices they were building, and without their knowledge and abilities our society would have to go back to the times when all the machines and devices that offered all sorts of comforts of life had not existed yet. Of course they claimed to be the most powerful and important family among the five, and they started to fight with the other four over their rights as time went by. </em></p><p><em> The fourth family was the </em> Neskoya Clan,<em> their crystals black like a night without moon and stars, and the color of their clothing the dark green of a thick forest. They were catalysts, waking the sleeping abilities in any Devore who possessed them without knowing how to use them, and they could also amplify the mental powers of the other families – or diminish them. It was even told that the most powerful women of the </em> Neskoya <em> could erase the telepathic abilities of the other families completely. They were feared for their special skills and desired as possible mates in equal measures, and they said that their gift was above all others as they could take them or grant them. </em></p><p><em>The fifth powerful dynasty was the </em>Arinok Family, <em>my own family.</em> <em>But their real name was soon forgotten, and everyone just called them </em>Stormriders.<em> Our clothes were white like the clouds in the blue summer sky, and our </em>Starstones <em>were red like our noble blood because their gift was dangerous and could destroy the whole world if it got out of control, shed the blood of thousands and millions of Devore when the storms of their fury was raging over the entire planet. The </em>Arinoks <em>could control the weather, bring sun and wind and water to let flowers bloom and crop grow, but they could also let thunderstorms light forests on fire and small creaks become torrential rivers.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Kathryn's eyes were glued to the images Lexia created right before her cloud, and she watched how Devore, men and women dressed in the respective colors of their clans, married, gave life to their children and died, the sceneries changing again and again. She watched skyscrapers grow and crane their slim necks into the blue sky over Devore Prime, and she saw the first starships launch and disappear into space. The entire history of Kashyk's ancestors unfolded before her in the short time of a few heartbeats, and she couldn't take her eyes off of what she saw and felt emotions surge through her that weren't her own. More starships left Devore Prime to colonize other worlds, and the cities grew and the skyscrapers became taller and taller until they almost reached the clouds. The streets were filled with life and noise, and the green forests and meadows became smaller and smaller until almost each spot on the surface was covered with the evidence of a highly advanced humanoid culture.</em>
</p><p>“<em>The competition between the five families threatened to turn into a terrible civil war, and a group of Devore held the technology created and built by the telepathic gifts of the clans responsible for the war and condemned it. They decided that they wanted to go back their former way of life and live in peace and harmony with nature. They took two of the starships and flew to Devore Prime's sibling, the world they called Devora. Other Devore had already settled there, and they welcomed their brothers and sisters as long as they accepted their way of life as simple farmers and craftspeople. But the five families didn't want them to go, needing them to fight for them against each other, and so they built a strong and impenetrable force field around her new home to keep their former brothers and sisters from following them and destroying their world in their bloody war as well.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Kathryn followed Lexia on her cloud when she flew higher until they were suddenly surrounded by the blackness of space and Devora lay deep down beneath them, shimmering in the golden light of the sun Devor like a precious green and blue jewel. She could also see the faint golden aura of the force field surrounding the planet, a clear warning that the Devore who called themselves Devorians now didn't want to follow them onto the path of war and destruction their brothers and sisters had chosen to walk.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Starfleet captain blinked, and when she opened her eyes again she was suddenly standing in a room that apparently served as a nursery, looking down into a cradle. A small baby girl looked back at her with big brown eyes, making gurgling sounds of delight when she saw Kathryn bending over her cradle. She stretched her tiny arms to grab a strand of Kathryn's hair, and her heart overflowed with emotions.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Is that you, Lexia?” she whispered, and Lexia was suddenly standing beside her in her white robe and looking down at the baby too. </em></p><p>“<em>Yes, that's me.” She took Kathryn's hand and led her through corridors and rooms, and Kathryn followed her and watched Lexia Arinok grow up to a young girl and then to a young woman, her powers growing with her until everyone stopped using her birth name to address her and began to just call her Stormqueen instead.</em></p><p>“<em>Three of the noble families, the Meridok, the Laranax and the Sumarak finally realized that they couldn't stand up against the Arinok on their own because of my powers, and they decided to unite their forces and defeat the feared Stormqueen together. Over the centuries, each family had built large matrices of countless of crystals to use them as amplifiers and to unite the mental skills of each family member to one powerful source of energy, bringing other Devores under their control with that and oppressing their minds with their united forces.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Kathryn watched in horror chaos and destruction coming over Devore Prime, cities falling and the skyscrapers tumbling down and burying thousands of men, women and children underneath them.</em>
</p><p>“<em>What happened to the families – what happened to you?” was all she could croak out, trapped in the dreadful and horrific pictures appearing before her.</em></p><p>“<em>Most of my family died in the war, but even all three clans together couldn't defeat me. I'd been promised to be a queen for all of my life, and yet I couldn't protect my loved ones. I was crazy with horror and fury, and my gift turned against me and threatened to destroy me. Usually, there were at least five strong telepaths required to control the huge matrices of </em>Starstones, <em>but I channeled the energy of our matrix in my mind alone and used it to fight against the three other families all together – until only few of them were left. Storms were raging over Devore Prime for days and weeks, earthquakes destroying our once so beautiful world. I wanted to destroy, I wanted all of them to die, and I didn't even care about the innocents any longer. I locked myself in the highest tower of the palace in the Devore City, our capital, and I let my powers run wild until the First Lady of the </em>Neskoya Clan<em> decided that enough was enough. Lady Lenora was a lot like you, you even look similar, Kathryn. She came to me and held her ground, using her powers to weaken mine until the storms stopped raging and I broke down before her feet.”</em></p><p>“<em>Why didn't they stop the war sooner? The </em>Neskoya<em> would have been able to stop you, right?”</em></p><p>“<em>The </em>Neskoya Family<em> had refused to be a part of the war and not sided with any of the other clans. Some of them had left Devore Prime even before the war had begun, going with the group that found their new home on Devora, but the </em>Meridoks, Laranx <em>and</em> Sumaraks<em> had taken a lot of the Neskoya as hostages to make sure that the First Lady and the rest of her family wouldn't side with the </em>Arinok. <em>Lady Lenora knew that she had only this one chance to end the war, and when the storms finally broke, the whole terrible magnitude of what I'd done to my world and my people became visible. Devore Prime was destroyed, uninhabitable and unable to feed and sustain her people any longer. Lady Lenora was so kind to save my life and my sanity, and she exhausted her own powers to suppress mine until I wouldn't be a threat to my own people anymore.</em></p><p><em>The Devore who'd survived the </em> Crystal War <em> came together to build a new government without the remaining survivors of the once so powerful families, and they prepared to leave Devore Prime and follow their predecessors to find a new home somewhere else in the galaxy. But they were afraid of what their mental abilities had done to them, and they wanted to live without them in the future. In their misery they contacted the Devorian living here on Devore in such peace and harmony, because they didn't want to shed more blood and sentence the survivors of the five clans to death – which would mean the extinction of the special gifts they possessed as well. </em></p><p>
  <em>Together with their brothers and sisters they found a solution: putting the last strong telepaths of the five families into stasis on Devora and let them sleep until it would be safe to wake them up again. Lady Lenora surveilled their transport to Devora and stayed here to live with the Devorians. The telepaths of the four other families were put into stasis deep in the belly of the high mountains that are building a natural wall around this world, but I as the Stormqueen, the most powerful one of all the others, was put into stasis in a separate cave, far away from the others. One day I would wake up to use my powers to save my people from a bigger threat, to become the Keeper of this world, to bring life and peace instead of destruction and war.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The pictures faded to swirling mists until they were all gone, and Kathryn was pulled through a dark tunnel, the feeling of falling into an endless abyss making her cry out in mortal fear. Everything went black, and she was falling and falling...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>*~*~*</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Captain Kathryn Janeway snapped her eyes open with a gasp, finding herself sitting on the ground of the small chamber and still holding Lexia's hands in hers.</p><p>Lexia opened her eyes much slower, and there were lines of exhaustion on her youthful face.</p><p>“Now you know my story, Lady Kathryn,” she said, “and the story of Kashyk's ancestors. I have slept for centuries in the shrine where you woke up after your transport here, and Radyok, the faithful watcher over the Keeper - like all of his predecessors - woke me up when Kashyk told him about the Borg and what they would do to our world if we didn't find a way to fight them.”</p><p>“So you brought me here to help you fight against the Borg,” Kathryn stated thoughtfully. “I just don't know how I could do that. I'm not a telepath, and I don't have any special skills.”</p><p>“Don't underestimate yourself, Lady Kathryn,” Lexia said, “you're not a telepath yourself, but you'll be the one waking up my brothers and sisters from the other families, who are still sleeping in their shrines. You will wake them up and together, we will fight against the Borg and defeat them.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Where is Captain Janeway?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Captain Janeway learns why only she can help the Devorians and wake the sleeping telepaths up, and her crew on Voyager have noticed her disappearance and now have to find out where she's been brought and how to get her back where she belongs.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm sorry this update took me so long, my girl, but it's a long chapter to make up for that, I hope you'll like it!! :-*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You say that I am the one who'll wake up your brothers and sisters – the last members of the other telepathic families,” Janeway said after a moment of silence. “But why me, and how am I supposed to do that? Couldn't you do that much better and much easier, Lady Lexia? You're the Keeper of Devora if I understood Mayor Radyok correctly, and you've once known them. You're one of the last survivors of this war, so why can't you wake them up, perhaps even from here? Why sending me to do that?”</p><p>The old and yet so young looking woman smiled at her, but it was a melancholic and regretful smile. “Our ancestors – together with Radyok's ancestors – wanted to make sure that nothing like this terrible war would ever happen to Devora, and to avoid that they installed several safety circuits to secure the other shrines from any possible attack, especially mental ones as you can imagine. When I woke up after such a long time, I was weak and disorientated for several hours, defenseless to any possible mental attack, and it would have been rather easy for a strong telepath – or the Borg collective – to invade and oppress my mind until I'd recovered and was strong enough to withstand such an attack. Radyok helped me through these hours, but they'll be in a similar critical condition when they wake up, and our ancestors knew that and wanted to minimize the possibility of such an incident to occur right after their awakening.” Lexia explained to Voyager's captain.</p><p>“That's also one of the reasons why they put me into a special shrine in a cave far away from the caverns where the other families are sleeping and waiting to be woken up again. I have once been the feared Stormqueen, the most powerful telepath Devore Prime had ever known, and they didn't want to kill me, but they feared my powers and the possibility that I could take over control of the minds of the other family members – or the Devorians living here in their new home world.</p><p>So they built a dampening field around the cave with my shrine and around these rooms to weaken my mental abilities and protect the Devorians from any possible telepathic violation on my part. It's still active, and I could only bond with you because Radyok decreased its force for the time I needed to take you on this mental journey and show you what happened to my beloved Devore Prime because I was too young, proud and arrogant to control my powers and my desire to destroy those I thought to be my enemies.” Lexia went silent, looking exhausted and pale, and the kind Devorian mayor gently squeezed her arm in consolation.</p><p>Kathryn looked at Radyok, and she noticed only now the small device he held in his hand, looking very much like a tricorder or something similar. It must be the control device for the dampening field, and she frowned because she couldn't feel anything, no tingling that would have indicated that there was an electric shield affecting her brain. She gazed questioningly at Radyok and Kashyk, because both men seemed unaffected by this mental shield.</p><p>“It's adapted to my telepathic cortex, Lady Kathryn. No one else will feel the effect of the shield, only I,” Lexia said when she saw the confusion on her face, and Janeway nodded her head.</p><p>“I see. So they still don't trust you.” she mused, not really surprised after all the former Stormqueen had shown her.</p><p>“I do trust the Keeper, Lady Kathryn. I'm a strong telepath, and I can sense that Lady Lexia will never do us any harm, but we agreed that it would be better to leave the mental shield as it is for now – as we don't know how far advanced the Borg sensors are when it comes to telepathy. We don't want to let them know that we're already preparing to fight against them, and our united mental forces will be the only weapon we have to defeat them. We'll have only this one chance, nothing more, otherwise Devora will soon belong to the Borg, and nothing will be left of us and our culture,” Radyok came to Lexia's defense, and Kathryn nodded again.</p><p>“I see. I could feel that you're not threat to your own people any longer during our connection myself, and I trust you, Lady Lexia,” she agreed, and Lexia's features relaxed when she was sure of Kathryn's willingness to trust her and cooperate.</p><p>“Thank you, Lady Kathryn. I'm sorry that we had to take you away from your ship and your crew, but you're the only one who can help us. Our ancestors installed these safety circuits to protect the Devorians and the members of the clans from mental attacks, and they did it in a way that only someone without any telepathic skills can go past the protecting shields and reactivate the sleeping telepaths again. Said someone must also be someone who will not gain any personal profit out of the reactivation, not for themselves or their people. The protection shields won't harm you, and you can pass them as you're not a telepath, but they'll scan you and record your thoughts and intentions – even the unconscious ones.</p><p>You're from the Alpha Quadrant, your only intention is to go back home, Lady Kathryn. You and your people are explorers, not warriors, and Kashyk told me how selfless you were and that you risked the safety of your ship and your crew to help and protect innocent refugees from the Devore inspections and bring them beyond their borders. The scans will record that you won't gain any profit out of helping us and waking my brothers and sisters up, and the security protocols will recognize that you're no threat to Devora and therefore allow you access to the caves and the shrines.</p><p>You see now why none of us – even the Devorians who were born without telepathy - can deactivate the shrines where my relatives are sleeping? Kashyk is a latent telepath himself, and he has a personal interest in all of this because he's our relative. We mused about another possibility before we decided to bring you here, please believe me that, Lady Kathryn. Unfortunately there's no time left for us to search for someone from the Delta Quadrant who could help us, the Borg will reach Devora soon enough, and our fate depends on you.”</p><p>Kathryn's head was spinning from all that had happened within the last hours, but she was also deeply fascinated, and she simply couldn't deny those friendly people her help. The mere thought that the Borg would assimilate this beautiful and peaceful world was making her shiver, and she took Lexia's hand without thinking to squeeze it gently.</p><p>“I will help you, Lady Lexia,” she promised with a small smile, “not that I would have much of a choice here anyway. But is there perhaps a way to let my crew know where I am and that I'm alive? We have fought against the Borg beforehand, Voyager could help you fight against them.”</p><p>It was Kashyk this time who answered her question. He looked a little bit displeased that Kathryn focused her attention on Lexia and Radyok, but she didn't have time to stroke his ego.</p><p>“We can't send a message to Voyager, the Borg would receive it as well, Kathryn. But Lady Lexia left a trace when she transported you here, an energy signature I'm sure that your clever crew will find and be able to follow it. It's small enough not to draw the attention of the Borg cube, but Ensign Kim, Lt. Tuvok and most of all your smart ex-Borg Seven of Nine should already have picked it up as we speak and check it. I noticed how protective your crew and especially Commander Chakotay are of you, they will not give up until they have found you, so please don't worry about Voyager but focus on helping us instead. We really need you – Devora needs you.”</p><p>Janeway gave him a long thoughtful look, and Kashyk shifted his weight a little bit under her silent appraisal. “I will, Inspector.” she stated quietly at last, turning her head back to Lexia and Radyok.</p><p>“So where are these shrines? How will I get there?” she inquired, concentrating on the here and now. “Time is our biggest issue, so I should leave as quickly as possible, right? Can you transport me to the other caves?”</p><p>“No, unfortunately not. Advanced technology isn't working near the caves. Our culture is based on living in harmony with nature, and we didn't want to walk the same path of destruction as our ancestors did on Devore Prime, Lady Kathryn. I fear that you have to ride there on the back of one of our chervines.” The mayor apologized, and Janeway's heart made a small happy flip at the prospect of an unexpected riding trip.</p><p>“Please don't worry about that, riding is not as difficult as it appears to be at first sight. I chose two chervines for you that are well broken and of a smooth temper. Kashyk will come with you be your guide on your way to Tristona, where the other shrines are located,” Radyok hurried to reassure her, mistaking her silence and the expression on her face for discomfort and uncertainty about the old-fashioned means of transportation.</p><p>Kashyk chuckled when he saw the look if indignation on her face. “Lady Kathryn is a good rider. Don't worry about that, Radyok. I took the freedom to check her data base and her personal file where I got access to it, and our beautiful starship captain grew up on a farm and learned riding at an early age.” He inclined his head in guilt when she glared at him. “I know that I shouldn't have done that, my dear Kathryn, but you were so different from any other person I'd ever met beforehand, so different from any other human species, and I couldn't help but feel beyond intrigued and fascinated by you and your whole demeanor, so I wanted to learn everything about that was there to learn and know about you. The chervines Radyok mentioned are not so different from your horses, it should be easy for you to ride them.”</p><p>“I'm not worried about my ability to ride one of those chervines, Inspector. It's more you I'm worried about here – you never looked like someone appreciating the benefits of a life without technology to me. Riding is such a rustic and – shall I even say barbaric – entertainment that I can't even begin to imagine you indulging yourself in such an old-fashioned pleasure and pastime,” Janeway retorted with an undertone of barely hidden mockery in her voice, but the Devore just smiled at her and took her hand to blow a kiss over the back of it.</p><p>“You'll find yourself surprised then, Lady Kathryn. There is a lot you don't know about me, but it'll be my greatest pleasure to enlighten you about my favorites and preferences on our way to Tristona,” he said with a bow, and Kathryn found herself blushing and pulling her hand out of his grip.</p><p>“We won't have much time for that, I fear. Maybe another time. The Borg are on their way here, and we'll have to be quick if we want to stop them before it's too late,” she objected.</p><p>“You're right with that, Lady Kathryn,” Lexia stepped in before her banter with Kashyk could get out of hand, and she took her hands to press their palms against each other. “I'm still rather weak and tired, and I will wait here and mediate until Radyok will switch off the dampening field. This will only happen when he gets the sign from the main computer in the caverns where my brothers and sisters are sleeping - and when you were able to wake them up.” It was clear that her words were meant as a goodbye, and she stepped back, releasing Kathryn's hands with the same reluctance Voyager's captain felt herself at the prospect of leaving her to go on the mission she'd just agreed to.</p><p>Kathryn didn't really want to leave the Keeper of Devora, she had still so many questions and only so little answers to them, but there was no time left for these things, and her concern about her crew and their well-being was winning the upper hand. The sooner she woke the sleeping first Devore up, the sooner she could return to Voyager and her crew, so she had to delay her wish to learn more about the fascinating young woman who'd once been the feared and dangerous Stormqueen.</p><p>“We will leave instantly, Lady Lexia,” she said, and the other woman gifted her with a sweet smile. “Thank you, Lady Kathryn. I know that you'll be successful, I can feel it. Your clothes will protect you, they're a sign that you're under my protection, and you will find help on your way to Tristona. Tristona is the village and the castle on top of the mountain where the caves are located, about three days from here. Radyok will tell you everything you'll need to know before your departure, and you'll find shelter in the taverns along your way. There is no time to lose, so please hurry, Devora's future depends on you.”</p><p>“I will not disappoint you, Lady Lexia,” Kathryn promised her in a solemn voice, “the Borg won't assimilate your new home.”</p><p>“I know, Lady Kathryn. I have faith in you,” the slim young woman replied, her shoulders slumping under the weight of responsibility she was carrying, but her eyes were shining with strength and determination, and her steps were firm when she went back to the cot to lie down on it. Radyok's fingers flew over the blinking buttons of the largest console with long-time practice, and Lexia closed her eyes, her breathing slowing down when she was pulled back into a state of deep mediation.</p><p>Janeway swallowed and waited until Radyok joined her and Kashyk at the exit, leaving the secret chamber after one last glance back at Lexia Stormrider.</p><p>She hadn't asked to be involved in Devora's affairs, but now that she knew about Lexia and the past of Kashyk's people she just couldn't deny them her help, and she wouldn't rest until their world was safe and the Borg were defeated.</p><p>Kathryn had always wanted to see the stars and explore the universe. She was an explorer through and through and down to her bones, and she found her stomach tingling with anticipation of the forthcoming journey and the adventures lying in front of her, despite her deep worries about her crew. But she knew them all in capable hands with Chakotay and Tuvok, and she had a promise to fulfill and a world to save now.</p><p>She smiled when she sensed Radyok and Kashyk looking at her, and she grabbed the arms of both men and pulled them along the gloomy tunnel in the direction of the secret door in the library.</p><p>“Well gentlemen, let's not waste any more time, shall we? We have a journey to plan and a world to save after all,” she demanded, and both men bowed their heads and returned her smile.</p><p>“Of course, Lady Kathryn. The Borg will not assimilate Devora, not as long as I still live and breathe,” Kashyk swore, and for the first time ever since she'd woken up in Lexia's shrine, she was actually glad that she'd been brought here to help Kashyk rescue his long-missed relatives from the lethal threat that was coming closer and closer with every minute.</p><p>Maybe they would even be able to get over their own differences during their journey, Kathryn thought when they reached the door and Radyok opened it for them. The last 'maybe' was only a small and minor one, but it was one Kathryn was not willing to forget about, and judging by the way Kashyk was gazing at her with dark and passionate eyes, he was hoping for just the same thing.</p><p> </p><p>*~*~*</p><p> </p><p>“Still no sign of her?”</p><p>Commander Chakotay was pacing up and down on the bridge like a caged panther, watched by his senior officers with eagle eyes who wore equally worried and desperate expressions on their faces.</p><p>“Nothing, Commander,” Lt. Tuvok's voice sounded through the comm link as evenly and unfazed as ever, but Chakotay knew him long and well enough to detect the thin underlayer of uneasiness and worry nonetheless. Tuvok, Seven of Nine and Harry Kim were in Captain Janeway's quarters to find out what had happened to her and why she'd disappeared from there without anyone noticing it, and Chakotay was itching to join them and turn every single inch of her quarters upside down until he'd find her, but he was needed on the bridge as her First Officer, and he couldn't allow himself the small luxury of just dropping everything to come to her rescue – wherever she was and from whatever she needed to be rescued that is.</p><p>“Keep me informed,” was all he managed to press out through gritted teeth, well aware of the eyes directed on him in the silent plea to tell them where their admired captain was and what they should do to bring her back where she belonged.</p><p>“Yes, Commander,” Tuvok said, and the link went silent, while Chakotay resumed his pacing.</p><p>“There must be something we've overlooked,” the Commander murmured to himself, “she can't just have vanished into the air without any traces.” Chakotay turned to the ensign who'd taken over from Harry and was responsible for the sensors at the moment.</p><p>“Ensign Kutarro, check the sensors for anything unusual again, check them until you'll find something, anything. A cloaked ship, any signs of unexpected radiation, anything that will give us a start from where we can investigate further,” he ordered the young man, and the ensign nodded eagerly and started to run another scan of the dark space outside Voyager. The proud Starfleet starship was hovering in the blackness, still and motionless after the full stop Chakotay had ordered the minute he'd learned about Janeway's mysterious disappearance from her quarters.</p><p>They were lucky that they had already noticed her absence about an hour after she'd withdrawn for the night, and the Commander knew that. They had already flown back and forth between the coordinates where she'd last been seen on the bridge and the moment when Neelix had tried to see her in her quarters for a personal request he'd had, but they hadn't found anything suspicious so far, just empty space and a few numbers of star systems within a range of fifty light years, but none of them were close enough to explain why their captain had left Voyager without any noticeable signs of where she'd been brought to.</p><p>It was out of the question that Kathryn Janeway had left her ship and her crew like a thief in the night willingly and freely, someone must have taken her away by force, Chakotay was absolutely sure of that. She would never abandon her crew like that, and he'd already guessed loudly and rather angrily that Q was responsible for her sudden disappearance, speaking into the air and demanding that he would return their captain to Voyager immediately and with a good explanation at hand for his new scheme. His officers had listened to his growling with expectant and hopeful faces, but nothing had happened, so Q was either too busied to pay attention to Chakotay's demands, or he actually had nothing to do with the huge problem Voyager had to face now.</p><p>The third option would be that Q might not have anything to do with Kathryn's absence but actually knew where she was, laughing at Chakotay and finding it funny to watch his feeble attempts to get her back, but this was an option he didn't want to think about any further.</p><p>Tom was sitting at the helm, his desperate desire to do anything written all over his face, and Chakotay forced his feet back to his seat again when he realized that the display of his own helpless confusion and anger were only making everything worse for his crew. He'd just sat down when his communicator beeped.</p><p>“Chakotay here,” he barked, inhaling a deep breath to calm his nerves down.</p><p>“Lt. Tuvok here, Commander. Ensign Kim and Seven found traces of a strange energy signature in Captain Janeway's quarters. They're already fading, and I sent them to the astrometrics in order to examine these traces further. Ensign Kutarro should receive a transmission of the energy signature within the next few seconds to increase our efficiency.”</p><p>“Understood, Lieutenant. Anything else?”</p><p>“Nothing, Commander.” Tuvok said, and Chakotay sighed. “Return to the bridge, then,” he ordered, glad that they had at least found something.</p><p>“Got it, Commander,” the young ensign announced from his console, “I'm on it, running more sensor scans now.”</p><p>“Do your best, Ensign Kutarro,” Chakotay said, exchanging a quick glance with Tom Paris at the helm. “Be prepared to set up a new course, Ensign Paris,” he gave his next orders, thinking that it was still so strange to call Paris 'Ensign' now.</p><p>“Yes, sir!” Tom didn't even seem to notice his new rank, he simply looked grateful that they had finally found something that could help them find their captain, and he turned back to the helm in order to prepare everything for the new course they would hopefully soon be able to set up.</p><p>“Seven of Nine to Commander Chakotay,” the voice of the former Borg made Chakotay sit up straighter, just when Lt. Tuvok reentered the bridge, and he swallowed and tapped his combadge.</p><p>“Chakotay here. Tell me that you have good news,” he answered, giving his voice an even and positive sound. He needed to be strong for their crew, and he refused to believe that something bad had happened to Kathryn. She was a strong woman, and they'd gone through so much together. He would find her and bring her back, and if he had to fly Voyager through hell and back to find her.</p><p>“That depends on what you consider to be good news, Commander,” Seven of Nine retorted in her usual way, “Ensign Kim and I were able to decipher the energy signature. It actually looks as if it was left in Captain Janeway's quarters on purpose for us to find it. Most of it has faded, but we were able to follow the last traces of it backwards in the direction where it came from, and there is only one star system close to these coordinates. The system is fifty light years away from our current position, and we can reach it in five days at warp five.”</p><p>“We'll fly there at maximum warp,” Chakotay replied immediately, but Seven of Nine wasn't done with her information.</p><p>“I wouldn't advise that, Commander. We'll cross a large hot plasma nebula on our way there, and the plasma will ignite itself if we'll fly through it at a higher velocity than warp five. Apart from that, the signature is of a similar pattern as the energy signatures of the Devore warships, so we'll have to be careful during our search for Captain Janeway.”</p><p>“The Devore? But we've left their territory weeks ago!” Chakotay narrowed his eyes. “Kashyk! I knew that it was a mistake to let him stay on board, but she wouldn't listen to me!” he murmured to himself, “do you want to tell me that she was kidnapped by the Devore?”</p><p>“No, Commander. I only said that the energy signature is of a similar pattern as the energy signature of the Devore ships. All we know for sure at this point is that it's leading to the star system fifty light years away from our coordinates, and that we were obviously supposed to find it.”</p><p>“Alright. Ensign Paris, set up a course to this star system. Warp seven until we reach that nebula. We'll decide whether or not we'll really need to slow down our speed when we'll reach it,” Chakotay ordered, and Tom Paris nodded, his fingers already flying over the helm before the Commander had even finished his orders.</p><p>“There is something else you need to know, Commander,” Harry Kim now spoke up, “our long range sensors detected another ship, a ship that is on its way to the star system as well,” he said, and Chakotay really didn't like the sound of his voice.</p><p>“What kind of ship, Ensign Kim? Is it Devore like the energy signature?” he asked, getting all cold inside when Harry cleared his throat before he was able to answer.</p><p>“No, Commander. It's Borg, and it will reach the unknown star system within the next four or at least five days at its current velocity. The Borg are on their way to this unknown star system just like we are, and they will most likely reach it before we do.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Begin of the Journey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kathryn Janeway and Kashyk, the former Inspector of the Devore, start their journey to Tristona to wake the sleeping telepaths up. Riding on horse-like chervines, they have finally time to talk to each other.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry this chapter took me so long, my dear! At least there is some proper interaction between Kathryn and Kashyk, I hope you'll like it! ;-*</p><p>If there is anyone else out there except for my girl reading and enjoying this story, I would really be grateful for your feedback! &lt;33</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kathryn's chervine was of a snow-white color and reminded her strongly of the mystic unicorns she'd read about in the old books which the library of her hometown had offered when she'd been a young girl.</p><p>These fascinating animals were indeed closely related to the horses from Earth, the most important difference to real horses being the two ossicones that protruded from the furry forehead in the height of where the eyes were, sitting right in the middle between them, and one single and smaller ossicone that was protruding from the broad chest right under the long neck. The Devorian chervines were taller and broader in build than the average Earthen horse, with long manes and thick tails and longer fur covering the hooves, and Kathryn fell in love with hers right at first sight.</p><p>The chervine Radyok had chosen for her was a friendly but vivid mare with shiny white fur and her mane and tail of a darker silver-gray color, and she bent her beautiful head with the two ossicones to snort softly against Kathryn's palm when the captain offered it to her with soothing words. Janeway stroked the velvety nose tenderly, and the chervine stepped closer and pressed into her touch with a wistful neigh and beautiful dark-brown eyes under long white lashes.</p><p>“She's so beautiful, what's her name?” Kathryn asked, completely enthralled and fascinated, and the mare seemed to feel the same way about her, because she started to rub her face against Kathryn's side, demanding more stroking and patting.</p><p>Radyok watched the two so different females with a knowing smile that lit up his strict features, one of them a human woman from a place so far away from Devora, and the other one an animal that was bred to serve her humanoid masters, but it was clear to see that they were becoming best friends quickly despite the differences between them; and the Devorian mayor wore a fond expression on his solemn face when he saw how well Kathryn and the mare seemed to understand and like each other right from the start.</p><p>“She was always meant to belong to someone very special, Lady Kathryn,” he explained to her, “so she never got a name. It's your honor and duty to find the right name for this beauty, so I would believe.”</p><p>Kathryn gazed into the intelligent dark eyes of her new friend for a moment. Kashyk was standing a few meters away and watching her silently as well, stroking absently the neck of his own chervine, a tall stallion with pitch-black fur and two bigger horns on his forehead. She could feel his eyes on her face, but she ignored him and focused on the beautiful mare instead.</p><p>“Stardust!” the name flashed in her mind before she could think of any other, and she smiled and repeated the name she'd just found for her new friend.</p><p>“Stardust, you and I will be good friends, won't we, my beautiful girl? Your silver-white fur is shimmering like glittering dust from the stars,” she murmured into the twitching white ear, and Stardust snorted her approval and pushed her velvety nose into her palm again. Kathryn was usually a very pragmatic person, but she did have a romantic side, and only suppressed it most of the time because of her profession and job as a captain of the Starfleet. It was nice to be able to allow her romantic and softer side to rise to the surface for once, she thought, and Stardust was truly a perfect name for the snow-white mare.</p><p>“You have found a very suitable name for her,” Radyok agreed approvingly, and Kathryn gifted him with a blinding smile that pulled a strangled noise from the Devore Inspector, no – the former Devore Inspector – as she had to remind herself. Kashyk had given up everything to help the relatives he hadn't known anything about since a couple of weeks ago, and he'd given up all of the beliefs he'd been taught about telepaths from such an early age on. It was time for her to give up her own mistrust and grudge, Voyager's captain admitted quietly to herself, and she turned her head to smile at Kashyk, as well.</p><p>“Have you thought about a good name for your chervine, Kashyk?” she wanted to know, and the Devore shook his head.</p><p>“We've just met each other, there was no time for that left so far,” he said with a shrug and a thoughtful pursing of his sensitive lips, and Kathryn stepped closer to the stallion's box to regard him more closely. Stardust apparently didn't like it that she was bereft of her new friend's attention so unexpectedly, because she let out a reproachful neigh and stomped her front hoof in displeasure in her own box of the large stable that belonged to Radyok's house.</p><p>“You're my number one, Stardust,” Kathryn assured the chervine with a smile, “but your companion deserves to have a good name on his own.” She cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips as she observed his black fur and the equally black mane and tail of the huge stallion.</p><p>“Nightshade,” she decided after a few moments. “what do you think about Nightshade, pretty boy?” she asked the chervine, and he bent his head down to her in devotion and sniffed at her palm like Stardust had done it not long before.</p><p>Kashyk rubbed his neck and chuckled. “Lady Kathryn is not only beautiful, strong and honorable, but also perfect when it comes to names, as it would seem. I'm not surprised, though, I knew that she's a lady of many talents and skills the moment I met her.”</p><p>“Flatterer,” Janeway snorted, but her cheeks colored a bit at his courteous behavior, and her eyes sparkled when their gazes locked for the blink of an eye. “Stardust and Nightshade is it then.” She turned around to look at Radyok.</p><p>“We need to leave as soon as possible. I need to go back to Voyager, and there is only little time left until the Borg will be within range and try to assimilate your world, Mayor Radyok.”</p><p>The Devorian mayor nodded his head in a small bow. “Everything is prepared for your imminent departure, Lady Kathryn. My wife saw to the beasts of burden being packed and ready when you are, so there won't be any further delay. Kashyk studied the maps of this region and made himself familiar with the terrain and the hamlets and inns along your way to Tristona, so you shouldn't need more than the anticipated three days to go there.”</p><p>“I shall hope so, Radyok,” Kathryn agreed with a sigh, walking back to Stardust to saddle and snaffle her for their journey to Tristona. Kashyk followed her example without any other word, and not long after they were riding out of the village with the pack chervines in tow, Mayor Radyok and his wife Larinya waving after them until they were finally out of sight.</p><p> </p><p>*~*~*</p><p> </p><p>They rode on in companionable silence for some time, each of them busied with their own thoughts, and Kathryn found herself enjoying the ride and how Stardust was moving steadily beneath her despite her deep worries and concerns about Voyager's well-being and the threat of the Borg looming on the horizon. It had been far too long since she'd last gotten the opportunity to ride, and that on a real living and breathing horse – or horse-like animal in this case – and even though flying through space with Voyager was almost giving her the same feeling of peace and freedom, but riding through the beautiful landscape of this unique world was satisfying a longing sitting deep inside her heart of which she hadn't even known that it had been there, and that it must actually have been growing inside her for a rather long time.</p><p>The sun was slowly rising and coloring the sky with all sorts of different shades of silver-gray, red, pink and orange, a spectacle she'd always loved watching early in the morning when she'd still lived on her parents' farm, and it reminded her painfully of her own home world that was still so far away, the gap of thousands of light years too large to ever hope crossing it. Hope was the last thing to die, though, and Kathryn Janeway had never really been the person to give up and resign herself to a fate or circumstances that seemed to be beyond her control.</p><p>There had to be a way for Voyager to find back to the Alpha Quadrant as long as they were all still alive and young enough to see the sun rising over the Pacific Ocean again, and Kathryn wouldn't give up until she'd found the way back to their own part of the galaxy.</p><p>“It's so beautiful, isn't it?”</p><p>Kashyk's quiet question pulled her out of her state of deep contemplation, and Kathryn turned her head to look at him. Stardust snorted softly and moved forward eagerly, her long silken mane blowing in the gentle morning breeze, and Kathryn patted her shiny white neck tenderly.</p><p>“You're my good girl, Stardust,” she murmured into the white ear that twitched backwards as the mare listened attentively to her new human master, answering with a cheerful neigh and a nod of her head as if she were truly understanding what Kathryn was telling her.</p><p>“Yes, this world is truly beautiful, and we must protect it from the Borg, Kashyk,” she agreed, smiling at the tall Devore looking at her with a strange expression. “I was angry at you at first, but I can see why you felt that you didn't have any other chance to save Devora from the lethal threat the Borg are to this world. I'm worried about my crew and my ship, and I need to go back to my own people as soon as possible, but I'm actually glad that you let Lady Lexia bring me here to help you, and I will do my best to help you defeat the Borg.” She paused and gave the former inspector a long, meaningful look.</p><p>“I hope that your change of heart will be a lasting one, though, Kashyk. I understand your fears and your behavior towards telepathic species much better now, but you must understand that not all telepaths are like your ancestors have been, destroying their own home world with their special abilities. You have no right to hunt and imprison them as if they were criminals, just because they are using the mental skills your kind have been denying themselves for centuries – out of fear about what happened in a past that is long gone.”</p><p>Kashyk bowed his head, and his smile was melancholic. “You're far too wise for your young age, my dear Kathryn,” he acknowledged the truth of her words, “my people could learn a lot from you, but I fear that they are not ready for the truth yet – at least most of them. Our fear and mistrust have grown for centuries, it will take time to overcome them and find new paths to walk upon into a peaceful future that will also include our rightful legacy without any reservations and prejudices towards those who are gifted with these special abilities.”</p><p>Kathryn nodded thoughtfully. “Your people have a long way ahead of them, that's for sure. Have you decided what you will do when the Borg are defeated? Will you return to Devorus and tell the Devore about their relatives?”</p><p>The dark-haired Devore shrugged his shoulders in a somewhat helpless gesture. “I must admit that I am not sure what I will do when the Borg are defeated. When – not if – because these heartless drones will not destroy this world, not as long as I live and breathe!” he added determinedly, and Kathryn understood him far better than she'd like to do, but she couldn't agree with him about the 'heartless' drones – not after having one on board her ship for so long now.</p><p>“We agree that the Borg collective must be defeated and kept away from this world, Kashyk,” she said, “but we do not agree on the 'heartless drones'. Seven is the best example that they are not just heartless drones, and that they can become valued members of any society again when they are released from the collective. None of these drones have had any choice about whether or not they wanted to join the collective, they have all been abducted, abused, forced and enslaved against their own free will and decision, and there is a tragic fate behind each one of the seemingly heartless drones. They are all oppressed and held as prisoners in the collective, and instead of condemning them we should think about a way to destroy the collective oppression of millions of individuals and try to rescue as many as possible of them to give them their freedom back.”</p><p>Kashyk reined Nightshade to wait until Kathryn had reached his side, and the look he gave her was doubtful. “Do you really think that these drones would be able to live a life on their own after all they did and after having been a part of the collective for so long? It is for sure a honorable and merciful thought, but to me it sounds more like wishful thinking than a real possibility, Kathryn,” he objected. “It might have worked with your Seven of Nine, but that is only because of you, my dear Captain Janeway. No one else I know would have had the patience and the mental strength and skills to shape the former heartless and to the collective so faithful female drone into the admittedly truly equally faithful and valuable crew member of Voyager she is now, not to mention the beautiful woman she has grown into...”</p><p>Kashyk's voice trailed off, and Kathryn felt a strange sensation pooling in her stomach, a disturbing emotion she couldn't really explain. She frowned at the Devore, and his eyes crinkled with amusement when he bent towards her and took her hand to blow a gentle kiss onto the white glove that covered it.</p><p>“Are you jealous, my dear lady?” he teased her gently, “please let me assure you that you have no reason to be jealous of anyone. No woman living in this universe can be as beautiful and fascinating as you are, and my devotion will always belong to you.”</p><p>“Stop that, Kashyk, I know what you're doing!” Janeway snapped helplessly, feeling the heat of another embarrassment crawl into her face, “your charm is wasted on me.”</p><p>“So you at least admit that I am charming, my dear Lady Kathryn.” the Devore retorted with a chuckle, and his eyes sparkled with a challenge Kathryn found hard to ignore.</p><p>“Stop calling me 'lady', I think I told you to call me Captain Janeway before,” she chided him, knowing that she was being childish, and he inclined his head and smiled apologetically at her.</p><p>“I am very sorry, but I fear that I cannot bend to your wish, Lady Kathryn. You are not the captain of a ship here in this world, and the Devorians must not know about your true identity and the purpose of our journey before our mission is accomplished. You have to appear as Lady Kathryn for the time being, and I will be your faithful protector and companion Sir Kashyk for the length of our journey. To ensure that our cover will not fail we should use these names and titles even when we're alone with each other – solely for practice and the sake of our mission, of course.”</p><p>Kathryn didn't like it at all, but she knew that the former inspector had a point here. It would just have been much easier for her to play along and become 'Lady Kathryn' if there hadn't been their kiss back then in the shuttle bay of Voyager, and their romantic evening when they had visited the holodeck and watched Swan Lake together – when she'd been dressed like a lady and had actually felt like a true lady and not like a Starfleet captain for a few memorable hours.</p><p>When she'd felt like a woman, a beautiful and desired woman again, after living for years in self-chosen solitude on board her own Starship.</p><p>“Is that really necessary, Kashyk?” she asked reluctantly, and the Devore went serious again when he saw the hurt on her face. He made a vague gesture with his hand and sighed.</p><p>“I fear it is, Kathryn. Most Devorians live in peace together and mind their own business as Radyok assured me, but like in any other world, there might be people who will not respect the laws and rules of hospitality, and we cannot risk to arouse any suspicion about your true identity.</p><p>Your different appearance will already lead to some curious and even nosy and impudent questions, and I would advise you to pull the hood of your cape over your head when we'll reach one of the villages or inns. Your different looks can perhaps be explained with a natural gene-alteration though – which is known on Devorus as well.</p><p>It doesn't happen often, but it does, and the same surely goes for Devora and possible genetic alterations among the Devorians as well. I think that we're safe in assuming that the common villager knows only little about other cities or villages existing on Devora, and we can tell them that you have come from a region for away from here and hired me as your guide and guard for your journey to Tristona.”</p><p>Janeway nodded thoughtfully. “I have been thinking about the same thing. Our doctor could have altered my looks into one of a Devorian woman with a surgery, but he isn't here to do that, and I was musing about a logical explanation for my different appearance as well. Your suggestion is sensible and will hopefully work, but I would yet advise that we don't stay in one of the inns for the night but search for a clearing, a cave or something like that. I also want to ride for as long as we actually can, even after night has fallen if possible.”</p><p>“Your wish is my command, Lady Kathryn,” Kashyk complied to her decision with an elegant bow, and Kathryn had to suppress an irritated eye-roll as she was really not used to such a behavior. She knew that her crew was deeply devoted to her and that they all held her in high regards, but for them she was always 'Captain Janeway' or 'Ma'am', and the thought of calling her 'lady' and treat her like a noblewoman would never occur to any of them, not even to Chakotay – who might be the only one actually familiar with these things. As her reaction to such a demeanor would have been clear and foreseeable, not even Chakotay would have risked angering her like that.</p><p>But Kashyk did not belong to her crew, and he didn't really need to bend to her demands and orders either. That he called her his lady and treated her like one was simply how he was, and it was also his way of showing her that she had his respect and affection – which she had secretly been longing for since she'd first met him as she had to admit to herself.</p><p>It wasn't that she could commit herself to any kind of intimate relationship with him, not with the knowledge that she would have to leave him soon enough again and that he belonged to the Delta Quadrant and his own people – who would need him now more than ever before - but for once it was nice to feel cherished for herself after the long time she'd just been Captain Janeway for everyone.</p><p>“Very well, lead the way then, Sir Kashyk,” she decided, “Mayor Radyok said that you have made yourself acquainted with the terrain and that you know where we have to go to reach Tristona.”</p><p>“That is correct, my lady.” Kashyk looked around for a moment and then pointed to the left with his own glove-covered hand. He was indeed dressed like a Medieval aristocrat, wearing tightly fitting breeches made of black leather under a long sleeveless tunic that shimmered like velvet and was of a rich dark-gray color. The shirt underneath with the long sleeves was black again, and so was the cape-like coat with the hood he was wearing. A broad black leather belt with a sheath for a short sword completed his outfit, and his feet were stuffed in long black boots that reached up to his calves. Their outfits completed each other perfectly like their chervines Stardust and Nightshade did, her mare snow-white where his stallion was of a deep-black color.</p><p>“You would indeed made for an impressive lord, Sir Kashyk,” Kathryn allowed as she looked at him, and his smile made her heart beat a little bit faster.</p><p>“Thank you, my lady. Knowing you as well as I pride myself in doing, I feel truly honored because I know that you're not the one making empty compliments. You always choose the truth before false pleasantries, so please accept my sincerest thank you.”</p><p>“You're really such a charmer, aren't you? Things would have turned out to be quite different if you had valued the truth as much I am doing when we first met, don't you think so?”</p><p>Another emotion was flickering over the Devore's handsome features, and Voyager's captain could easily detect it as honest regret this time.</p><p>“I am aware of that, Lady Kathryn,” he admitted as he held her gaze, “and please believe me when I tell you that deceiving you was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my entire life, and the one thing I truly regret. But I didn't have any other choice back then.”</p><p>“There is always a choice, <em>Sir</em> Kashyk. One day you will see that, too,” Kathryn gave back, and then they rode on in silence for the next hours, while the sun was making its way over the sky, unfazed by the struggles of the creatures living under its light and the lethal threat that was coming closer to Devora with every hour that passed.</p>
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